The MacBook Neo is here, and the laptop was just revealed at Apple's big event in March. Yes, the budget laptop exists, and as rumored, the Neo is built around an iPhone chip (the A18 Pro).
The Neo has a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, along with some cleverly eye-catching color combinations. It also comes with a surprisingly low price tag that, at first glance, offers incredible value. but what No Does the MacBook Neo have it?
1. Show depressing things
You get a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with the MacBook Neo (with a resolution of 2,408 x 1,506), plus an anti-reflective coating.
What you don't get, however, is the Display P3 color gamut found on other contemporary MacBook displays, which provides more vibrant colors (reds and greens). Similarly, the Neo doesn't have a True Tone display, a feature that allows the laptop to intelligently adjust the display based on ambient lighting levels.
However, it's not really surprising to see that some aspects of the screen have been cut, given the base price of $599 / £599 / AU$899.
2. No notch
There is another change for the display in terms of Apple not cutting a small notch into the top of the display to house the camera. Instead, the 1080p FaceTime webcam is built into the top bezel, but that means the MacBook Neo has thicker bezels as a result.
And okay, that gives the Neo a bit of a dated look, but it's not supposed to be a premium-looking device, it's a budget laptop. I think it's a pretty fair compromise, and in fact, some people are even happy to see that there's no notch on the MacBook Neo.
3. No backlit keyboard
Apple has provided a Magic Keyboard with the MacBook Neo, but a less magical touch is that the keyboard is not backlit.
Since the main target audience is students who want an affordable laptop for school or college (who are likely to use it in the evenings or at night), the lack of backlight for key visibility could be an irritating drawback.
That being said, this won't bother everyone by any means and is obviously a situational disadvantage.
4. Without Apple N1 chip
Apple's N1 chip arrived late last year with the iPhone and was revealed yesterday as part of the new MacBook Air M5. Unfortunately, the wireless chip, which provides Wi-Fi 7, is not an ingredient in the component recipe of this new affordable laptop, and you'll be stuck with Wi-Fi 6E if you buy a MacBook Neo. Still, that's not the end of the world, especially not for an affordable device, and the Neo has Bluetooth 6.
5. The camera is not center stage.
While you get a 1080p FaceTime camera with the MacBook Neo, it doesn't benefit from Apple's Center Stage feature.
This is a feature that uses AI to keep you in the shot, panning or zooming to adapt to your movement (if you move, of course). It's a neat touch and is present on many modern Apple devices (including iPads). But again, losing this is part of the cost-cutting measures for the Neo in terms of a cheaper camera solution.
6. No MagSafe and no charger in the UK or EU
You don't get MagSafe charging with the MacBook Neo: it's just USB charging (there are two USB-C ports and a headphone jack, and that's it for connectors).
If you're in the European Union or the United Kingdom, unfortunately another piece of the puzzle is missing with the MacBook Neo: you won't get a charger included. This is a situation you're probably already familiar with if you live in Europe, brought about by EU regulations to reduce e-waste. (Please note that the EU is not directly preventing the inclusion of chargers – is a more complex issue than that).
Without a charger included in the box of a new MacBook Neo, you'll have to purchase a charging unit separately or use an existing solution. The good news is that it should work fine with a standard (fast) phone charger, as the laptop is built around that iPhone chip, so you should simply be able to use the same one that charges your smartphone. Phew.
To be clear, in the US (or elsewhere outside of Europe), you get a 20W USB-C power adapter with the Neo (plus a USB-C cable, and you get the cable in Europe).
7. Warnings about USB-C
If you thought the MacBook Neo had a pair of USB 3 ports, unfortunately it doesn't: one of them is USB 3, but the other is USB 2 and therefore you miss out on some key features.
This secondary USB port is much slower, with data transfers around 20 times slower, in fact, and it also cannot be used to channel a monitor signal (DisplayPort). In other words, you have to use the USB 3 port to connect an external display, and it doesn't look like the ports are labeled either.
This is a bit of an awkward nuance for the MacBook's wired connectivity, so like if you have a monitor connected to the Neo and want to use a USB stick, you'll be forced to have the latter on the slow port.
While I mentioned that some of the previous corners Apple has cut are understandable on a budget-oriented laptop like the Neo, this particular decision around ports is a bit baffling.
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